Coupling-centering mechanism.



I. H. MILLIKEN.

COUPLING CENTEBING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJI, l9l6.

Patented J an. 30, 1917.

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I. H. MILLIKEN.

COUPLING CENTERING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17. 1916- barren ras earns rare ISAAC H. MILLIKEN, OF ASPINWALL, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MOCONWAY &

TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

GOUPLING-CENTERING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 30, 1917.

Application filed August 17, 1916. Serial No. 115,383.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC H. MILLIKEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aspinwall, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in CouplingCentering Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention primarily relates to mechanism for unlocking and shifting laterally to proper coupling position such car couplers as are mounted upon railway cars so as to be capable of swinging laterally when the cars pass around curves; and the principal object of the invention is to provide means whereby the operator may always exert a pulling force in bringing the coupler to coupling position, without regard to the direction in which the coupler is required to be shifted.

Another object of the invention is to so form and relate the several elements of the device that case and certainty in the operation of the mechanism are insured.

Generally stated, the principal object be fore noted is accomplished by employing a plurality of levers which are connected to the car coupler through a member which is sufliciently rigid to permit it to move the coupler laterally by'pushing, one of said levers upon the application of a pulling force thereto being capable of pushing upon the member connecting it with the coupler, to thereby shift the coupler in one direction, and the other of said levers when similarly pulled upon by the operator being capable of pulling upon the member connected to the coupler, to thereby shift the coupler in the opposite direction.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a laterally movable coupler and coupler centering devices embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail view in side elevation of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of the lever mechanism and the fulcrum member which cooperates therewith. Fig. 4 is a detail view in front elevation of the lever mechanism and fulcrum member, one of the operating arms of the lever mechanism being in the position it occupies when it is to be employed in shiftlng the coupler laterally in a direction away from the operator. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but illustrating the parts in the relation shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail section taken on the line 66, Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a-portion of one of the members of the lever mechanism.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a coupler of well-known type. It is designed to be con nected to a railway car so as to be capable of moving or swinging laterally when the car passes around a curve in the track.

As my invention is generally applicable to car couplers having a lateral movement it is to be understood that the details of construction of the form of coupler illustrated are not to be regarded as essential features of the invention. The coupler is provided with the usual pivoted knuckle 2, and preferably with a locking device 3 that projects downwardly beneath the coupler head.

The means illustrated in the drawings for actuating the lock are fully described in 'my Patent No. 1,184,116, issued May 23, 1916. Briefly described, these means comprise an arm or lever 1 which is provided with trunnions 5 whereby it is pivotally mounted upon a bracket 1" that is rigidly secured to the, coupler.

The forward end of the pivoted lever 41.- extends into an opening formed in that portion of the lock 3 which projects downwardly outside the coupler head, and adjacent to its trunnions 5 it is provided with a pocket or recess 6 which is adapted to receive the upwardly extending inner ends 7 of rods or bars 8 that respectively extend in opposite directions toward the sides of the car. By rotating either of these rods 8 the coupler lock-3'may be caused to assume an unlocked position permitting the knuckle 2 to open. By pulling or pushing upon either of the rods 8 the coupler may be shifted laterally in either direction at the will of the operator. Where it is de sired to enable the trainman to unlock the coupler and shift it laterally while standing at either side of the car, both of the rods 8 and operating mechanism for each of them will be employed; but a single rod 11 which passes through suitable openings in the jaws 12 formed at the outer end of said rod, the lever 9 being preferably located between said jaws 12. When not being employed to effect lateral shifting of the coupler the levers 9 and 10 hang vertically, their operating arms or handles being below the pivot pin 11 and being separated sufiiciently to permit either to be readily grasped by the operator.-

The upper portion of the lever 9 is offset laterally, as at 13, to afford clearance for the projection 14 with which the lever 10 is provided. WVhen the handle end of the lever 10 is swung upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 5, this projection 14: engages the operating arm of the lever 9, thereby operatively coupling or connecting the levers so that the lever 9 may be actuated by the application of power to the lever 10. As most clearly shown in Fig. 7, the coupling'projection 1 1 is preferably flanged, as it isthereby adapted to partially embrace the lever 9 and thus insure a secure operative connection of the levers when the lever 10 is employed to actuate the mechanism. The upper end 15 of the lever 9 acts as the fulcrum point of the lever mechanism either when power is applied through the intervention of the lever 10 or when it is applied by the trainman direct to the lever 9. As the lever 9 preferably cooperates with a fulcrum member 16 having a series of pockets or recesses 17 into either of which the upper end of this lever is adapted to enter, it is preferred to fashion the upper end of the lever 9 with a tapering or pointed boss or projection 18 which, as will readily be understood, lessens the chance of the upper end of the lever catching upon the outer edges of the partitions.

or walls 19 of the pockets 17 of the fulcrum member when the lever is being rotated into operative or fulcruming relation with the fulcrum member 16 mounted on the car body. For a similar reason, the outer edges of the walls 19 of the pocket may be tapered or sharpened, as shown in Fig. 6; and in order to prevent the upper end of the lever 9 from accidentally slipping out of the pocket 17 when the lever mechanism is being operated to pull or push the coupler laterally the walls 19 of the fulcrum memher are provided near their outer edges with shoulders 20, the mouths of the pockets 17 being thereby somewhat contracted.

Brackets such as 21 may be conveniently employed to support the operating rods 8 from the car body in such manner that said rods may be permitted to slide, swing and turn freely. As shown in the drawings it the car at which the trainman is standing, 7

the operator grasps the lower end of the lever 9 and swings it forwardly until its upper end 15 enters the middle pocket of the fulcrum member 16. This movement of the lever 9 may be continued, if desired, through an are sufficient to cause a rotation of the attached rod 8 of proper extent to unlock the coupler and effect an openingrotation of the knuckle, if the coupler is provided with knuckle-opening mechanism. The upper end or fulcrum point 15 having been entered in the pocket of the fulcrum member 16, the operator pullsupon the lever 9 while its upper end fulcrums upon one of the vertical walls or partitions 19 of the pocket, thus pulling upon the rod 8 and causing the coupler to move toward that side of the car at which the operator is. When the coupler is to be shifted laterally in a direction away from the side of the car at which the trainman is standing, the operator grasps the handle of the lever 10 and rotates it upon the pivot bolt 11 until the.

two levers are operatively coupled together by the engagement of the projection 14 with the lower arm of the lever 9. The lever 10 may then be rotated toward the fulcrum member 16 to cause the upper end of the lever 9 to enter the middle pocket 17 of the fulcrum member, thus also rotating the rod 8 and effecting an unlocking of the coupler and the opening of its knuckle if the rota tion is carried sufliciently far. By then pulling upon the lever 10 while the fulcrum point 15 of the lever 9 fulcrums upon the vertical wall 19 of the pocket the lever 9 is caused to rotate in a direction enabling it to push upon the rod 8 connecting it with the coupler. The coupler is thus caused to shift laterally away from the side of the car at which the trainman is; It will thus be seen that the trainman is enabled to shift the coupler in either direction at will by exerting a pull upon the mechanism. Should it be necessary to shift the coupler 1 to an into the middle pocket 17 be insufficient to permit the trainman to shift the coupler easily, the coupler may be moved laterally a portion of the required distance and then the upper end of the lever 9 may be transferred to an adjacent pocket so that better leverage may be aflorded for completing the lateral shifting of the coupler.

I claim:

1. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of moving laterally, of means for shifting said coupler laterally in either direction, said means involving a fulcrum member on the car and a lever device having at one side of the longitudinal axis of the car a plurality of operating members to either of which power may be applied to effect a lateral shifting of the coupler, the fulcrum point of said lever device being movable into and out of engagement with said fulcrum member and said operating members permitting power to be applied on either side of the fulcrum point of the lever device, thereby permitting the direction of lateral shifting of the coupler to be selectively controlled.

2. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of moving laterally of means for shifting said coupler laterally in either direction, said means involving a plurality of levers at one side of the longitudinal axis of the car, and means for operatively connecting said levers to the car coupler, each of said levers being rotatable about a plurality of axes.

3. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of moving laterally, of means for shifting said coupler laterally in either direction, said means involving a plurality of movably connected levers, and means operatively connecting one of said levers to the car coupler, said levers being adapted to be operatively coupled together so that one may actuate the other, the free ends of said levers when in coupled relation being on opposite sides of the means for connecting one of said levers to the car coupler, and said levers being supported upon the car through said connecting means.

4.. In mechanism of the character indi cated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of moving laterally, of means for shifting the coupler laterally in either direction, said means involving a plurality of levers at one side of the longitudinal axis of the car, means for operatively connecting said levers to the coupler, and a member mounted on the car and forming a fulcrum for said levers, one of said levers being adapted to be engaged with and disengaged from said fulcrum member and tobe actuated by the other lever. 1

5. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of moving laterally, of a lockingdevice for maintaining the parts of the coupler in coupled relation, means extending toward the side of the car and operatively connected to said locking device and adapted to actuate said locking device and to shift said coupler laterally, said means being operatively connected at its outer end with a lever device comprising a plurality of operating members to either of which power may be applied to effect a lateral shifting of the coupler, said operating members permitting power to be applied on either side of the fulcrum point of the lever device.

6. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of lateral movement, of means for shifting said coupler laterally, said means involving a lever, a fulcrum member having a plurality of pockets each adapted to receive a portion of said lever, and means connected to said lever and adapted to transmit power to said coupler to shift the same laterally, the pockets of said fulcrum member having contracted months.

7. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with acoupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of lateral movement, of means for shifting said coupler laterally, said means involving a lever having a tapering projection, a fulcrum member having a recess adapted to receive said tapering projection, and means connected to said lever and adapted to transmit plower to said coupler to shift the same latera 1y.

8. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of lateral movement, of means for shifting. said coupler laterally, said means involving a lever, means connected to said lever and adapted to transmit power to said coupler to shift the same laterally, and a fulcrum member having a plurality of pockets'each adapted to receive a portion of said lever, adjacent pockets being separated by a wall which is tapered toward its outer edge, to thereby prevent the lever from catchin on the outer edge of said wall of the fulcrum member.

9. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of lateral movement, of means for shifting said coupler laterally, said means involving a lever, means for transmitting power from said lever to said coupler to shift the coupler laterally, and a fulcrum member having a plurality of pockets each of which is adapted to receive a portion of said lever, said pockets being separated by walls which are tapered at their outer edges and are providedwith shoulders adapted to engage said lever.

10. In mechanism of the character inclicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of lateral movement, of means for shifting said coupler laterally, said means involving a plurality of pivotally connected levers, One of said levers being provided with a projection whereby it is adapted to be operatively coupled to the other lever, and said other lever being formed with an offset portion affording clearance for said projection.

11. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of lateral movement, of means for shifting said coupler laterally, said means involving a fulcrum member, a lever adapted to cooperate with said fulcrum member, and a rod movably connected to said lever and extending beneath and operatively connected to said coupler for transmitting power to said coupler to eliect lateral shifting thereof.

12. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a coupler mounted on a railway car so as to be capable of lateral movement, of means for shifting said coupler in either direction, said means involving a fulcrum member on the car, a plurality of levers, and means for operatively connecting the coupler with said levers at points intermediate of their ends, said levers being independently movable and operatively disconnected normally, one of said levers being rotatable with relation to the other and adapted to operatively engage the other when the free ends of the levers are oppositely disposed with relation to the means which connect said levers with the coupler, and one of said levers being adapted to engage the fulcrum member on the car.

In testimony whereof l afliX my slgnature.

ISAAC H. MILLIKEN.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. S. 

